


Maps to the Sea

by Felinafullstop



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 05:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10656297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felinafullstop/pseuds/Felinafullstop
Summary: Zaeed and Thane become friends after a mission, and after a while, they become so much more.





	Maps to the Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ThreeWhiskeyLunch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThreeWhiskeyLunch/gifts).



Maps to the Sea

 

Chapter One: Teatime

 

* * *

 

 

There isn't time to say anything as Zaeed grabs Thane’s arm and hauls him down to the ground, pinning him down with his own body as the explosion rips through the bulkhead next to them. Zaeed's hands cover his own head and Thane turns his face away from the explosion, closing his eyes. “Goddamn, Geth...” Zaeed mutters. He lowers his head further as the second explosion rips through the next bulkhead. Thane shifting marginally beneath him causes his footing to slide.

           As the smoke settles Thane slides back out from under Zaeed and looks him over. “Are you hurt?” he asks, dusting off his own legs.

            “Fine.” Zaeed coughs slightly at the stale, smoke-filled air and wipes his arm clean of debris. Zaeed pressed his back against their cover. Turning slightly the man peered around for a moment, before turning back to the drell who was wrapping his own arm. “Where’s Shepard?” Zaeed's frustrated words were a near whisper as he checked his Omni-Tool that beeped at him and locked up. “Damn, tool's not working. I can't get a bead on Shepard.”  

            “Garrus is also missing.” Thane checked his Omni-Tool but it too, from what Zaeed could see, was inoperable.

           “God damned…. Those two.” The human male growled. “When I get my God damned hands on them….” He shifted his weapon into his other hand digging in his pockets.

            “I will help you restrain them.” Thane shifted his weapon into his free hand and dug his hands into his pockets as well pulling out a new heat sink. “This is going to be a difficult assault” he admitted as he moved forward moving his hands along the wall peering out from cover to the hallway around.

            “Anything?” Zaeed asked, sliding up behind Thane.

            “Not as of yet.” Thane pulled back, rolling to sit beside the human. “Perhaps the dampening field that has made our Omni-Tools inoperable is also causing issues with the Geth platforms themselves. It is unlike them to give up so easily. That, or they are being redirected elsewhere. ”

           “Can hope so. We wait?” Zaeed questioned as he too reloaded his weapons.

            “I believe that would be more prudent, given we do not know their location, and we could run circles and never intersect them,” Thane suggested pulling his jacket off to inspect his arm again. "Returning to the ship is another option, but only after we-" he makes an uncomfortable sound as his coat frees from his arm "exhaust the time alloted to us."

            “Grazed?” Zaeed asked, leaning down to look at the dark green blood that oozed from the wound. Noting the slick, wet-looking scales of Thane's arm Zaeed offered a hand, but was rejected. Green scales covered his whole body, giving way to black colored spikes that jutted out around his body from this back. He'd never really seen a drell close up. "Gonna be ok?" Zaeed asked as he twisted around Thane's position to peek out of cover once more.

            “Yes. I need only a moment to stop the bleeding.” Thane quickly pulled out a small bandage from his inner coat pocket and covered the wound quickly. “It is not deep, but making it difficult to keep hold of my weapon in my primary hand…” As he finished, Thane put the scraps from the bandage in his pocket and put the antiseptic back in his breast coat pocket, and pulled the leather coat back over his arms once more.

             “As long as you can keep moving.” Zaeed pushed up and peered back. “Nothing out there...” He lowered himself down again. "Smells like a Goddamn trap."

            "Perhaps-" Gunfire cut off Thane's response and drew their attention to the left. Zaeed turned back to Thane who nodded. “Garrus.” He said calmly shifting his secondary weapon between his knees to reload.

           “How do you figure?” Zaeed asked leaning forward, mismatched eyes looking curious.  

             As Thane began to load the weapon he paused. “His Mantis has a reverb.” Thane turned his head again now listening to the next shot. “It has this hum after he fires. It may be a miscalibration of his targeting system.” Thane’s finger tapped near his frill as if listening and he pointed when the shot when off again. He finished loading his weapon quickly as Zaeed closed his eyes a moment to try to hear what Thane was hearing.

            “Ready?" At Thane's nod, Zaeed motioned in the direction of the weapons fire. “Let’s get to him. Might need help.” Zaeed offered. “Might know where Shepard is.”

            Thane shifted looking behind before standing and nodding back. “I’ll cover you.” He insisted on Zaeed going first, as he moved his weapon into his non-dominant hand. “Keep moving forward if you can, do not stop unless you have to.”

           Zaeed’s feet were heavy with each step as they made their way toward the gunfire. “See him yet?” He questioned as he lifted his weapon firing at two Geth headed in their direction.

           “No, keep advancing,” Thane said backing up to Zaeed and moving at a pace that he found to be dauntingly slow, but he wouldn’t leave Zaeed here, not in this place, not with the Geth. “Garrus cannot be far.”

             “Affirmative,” Zaeed said gruffly as they continued through the corridor to the far end of the facility.

                 Garrus wasn’t difficult to find, but he was pinned down. Zaeed was eerily reminded of how Shepard described Garrus’ situation on Omega, getting Garrus out of his current situation would be a considerable challenge.

             The Turian would fire out his heat sink, and then fall back to cover, and slowly the Geth were able to advance on him like that, simply with sheer numbers. “Target sighted.” Zaeed murmured and found cover in the doorway.

            Thane twisted from his back to the other side of the doorway. He chanced a glance inside. “Confirmed.”

             “Plan?” Zaeed asked.

             “When he drops for the next reload, we shall take up from this position to move them back,” Thane stated calmly. “Between the three of us, we should be able to subdue this grouping of Geth.”

               Zaeed gave a nod and heard the fire stop, and turned into the doorway to fire on the Geth assembled while Garrus reloaded across the room. The disoriented Geth didn’t stand a chance. “EYES CLEAR!” Shepard called out tossing a flash/bang explosive into the room.

             Thane turned back putting his arm over his eyes as he closed them. Zaeed simply closed his eyes in cover until after the sound of the explosion.  

* * *

 

              Zaeed's eyes were still stinging, ears still ringing, by the time they all returned to the Normandy. Shepard and Garrus were at an opposite wall in the shuttle bay removing their armor and bantering about big explosions.

               Thane pressed his cold weather gear into the locker that had been assigned him but did not place his weapons within. Pulling his hand free of the locker he closed the door and rotated his wrist.

             “Hit you harder than you said,” Zaeed said after shoving his own cold weather gear into his own locker.

               “It is not important,” Thane stated quietly. “I will visit the medical bay to have the wound seen to before I retire to life support.”

             “I’ll follow you up,” Zaeed said shifting his weapon down into its holster on his hip. “Bloody hungry.” He explained, quelling the perplexed expression on the Drell's face, about him coming to deck 3 instead of disembarking on deck 4.

                Thane gave a curt nod, accepting his reasoning, and they moved to the elevator, leaving Garrus and Shepard to hang out at the weapons desk.

 

               Zaeed usually grabbed his food to go, making his way back to the cargo bay. Tonight, however, the mess was blessedly free of anyone. He found a seat, facing the lift, and sat. Thane could be seen with Dr. Chakwas through the frosted glass of the medical bay sitting on a medical bed and showing his wrist to the doctor.

               Zaeed turned his head to his food and began to pick at it. Gardner needed to be spaced out the nearest airlock, that was his opinion on tonight's leftovers. He sighed and set the fork aside and grabbed the small roll and bit down on the bread, at least it ~~,~~ was palatable.

             The hiss of an opening door drew his head as Thane exited the medical bay. The Assasin stood, coat over his left arm. His right arm was wrapped from the middle of his forearm down to his knuckles. It was definitely strained if it wasn’t broken.

            Thane took him in a moment, and walked toward him, and then past him to the kitchenette.

           Tossing his elbow over the back of his Chair Zaeed watched as Thane shifted his jacket onto the counter and used his good hand to reach up and open a cabinet and pull down a kettle. He set it next to his coat and reached up closing the cabinet.

               Zaeed watched with fascination as with one hand the Drell filled the kettle with water and set it on the heating surface to warm. Thane stood leaned up against the opposite island counter and simply watched the kettle.

            Zaeed stood gathering his plate and moving to where Thane stood. “You know you could use a hot shot.” Zaeed said softly of the water-heating device on the counter. “Helluva lot faster.” He dropped his food and plate into the disposal.

             “Patience is a virtue, and reflection is needed while the water boils,” Thane stated softly releasing a breath.

           Zaeed leaned up against the counter next to the stove. “Reflection huh?”

           “I was-“ He takes a moment to consider his words. “Distracted.” Thane lifted his arm. “One pays for such things.”

            Zaeed nodded. “Seems unlike you.”

           “It very much was,” Thane agreed as the kettle whistled softly as the water began to boil.

            “Past tense.” Zaeed folded his arms over his chest.

            “I do not intend to allow it to happen again,” Thane said calmly keeping his eyes on the kettle as it's small cap began to dance, and the whistle became louder.

            “Break it?” Zaeed's arms motion to Thane's "The arm I mean."

               Thane looked down at his hand. “Fracture.” He nodded.

           “The old woman give you some drugs?”

             “Yes, but I will be fine with meditation for pain management.” Thane murmured, stepping forward to lift the now screaming kettle from the stove. “Would you like to join me for tea?” It seemed like a strange question to Zaeed. Thane usually wasn't very personable; usually ~~;~~ he was quiet and reserved, preferring solitude to company.

               “Teatime huh?” Zaeed nodded. “Sure.” He turned reaching up for two mugs. “You bring the kettle. I got these.” He grabbed the leather coat. “And this.”

             Thane gave a nod and acquiesced to the bounty hunter’s offer to carry his belongings.

            Zaeed had never been in Life Support before, he’d come aboard after     Thane and by that time Thane had already made it his home.  

           “Awful small,” Zaeed stated as they entered. Thane set the kettle on the table and took his coat in his right hand and lifted it up to the hook above his cot.

             “I do not have opulent needs,” Thane stated and reached up for a small tin box on a shelf pulling it down. Opening it he turned it to Zaeed. “Please feel free to try anything you wish. Perhaps not the green foil bags as those are dextro.”

             “Quite a selection.” Zaeed murmured setting the mugs down and sitting down at the seat near the drive core. “Yeah…” The human thumbs through the packets and makes a swift choice. Navy and gold wrapper with a silver star printed on the cover.

            Thane nods. “That is an excellent choice, an Asari tea.” He takes up one of the same with his good hand before closing the lid on the tin and sliding it back up to its place above his cot.

             The Drell sits gingerly down. “Alright, there?” Zaeed’s brow furrows in concern watching the other man sit.

             Thane opens his tea, and discards the wrapper to his left side. “I am fine.” Thane’s voice is calm but honest as he places the teabag in his cup.

           "So," Zaeed leans back in his chair, pulling the mug into both hands as he raises a brow. "Why a suicide mission?"

             Thane's head inclined with a nod, and he began to tell the tale of his wife, his sickness, and his son. This, teatime, is how their friendship began.

* * *

 

To be continued 


End file.
